Bibb County Schools closed for the rest of the week

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Six schools in Bibb County still have no power due to damage from Tropical Storm Irma.

Due to power outages and fallen trees blocking roads, the district closed schools for the entire county these past few days.

Bibb County Schools will be closed for the rest of the week and students will return to school on Monday.

David Gowan, Director of Safety and Security for Bibb County Schools, said the district canceled school for the entire county for safety reasons.

“We want the power off the ground, so we don’t want any student walkers, or even on days that schools are closed currently, we don’t want kids out or anyone out walking streets that have power on the ground,” Gowan said. “That’s an extremely dangerous situation.”

He the county canceled school for the entire county to keep everyone on the same page.

“We want to stay together. We don’t want certain students falling behind the other students’ schools that currently have power,” Gowan said.

The schools that don’t have power are Northwoods Academy, Porter, Riley, Taylor and Heard Elementary, and Southwest High School.

According to an email sent by the Bibb County Schools Director of Communication, schools will reopen on September 18th. The email also states that students and parents should prepare for makeup days at some point in the school year.

“We will not delay the reopening of schools for anything other than continued hazardous conditions,” Gowan said.

He said he would like parents to remain patient while the district tries to get things in order.

The district is working with the county and Georgia Power to get power back to schools.